


Flocculent

by Kaggath



Category: Star Wars Legends: The Old Republic
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, I recognize that the canon has made a decision, but given that it's a stupid-ass decision I've elected to ignore it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-24
Updated: 2018-11-28
Packaged: 2019-08-28 10:00:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,031
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16721211
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kaggath/pseuds/Kaggath
Summary: There's a logical explanation as to how these two got here, but as the author I have made the executive decision to skip all that and get to the fluff.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> There's a logical explanation as to how these two got here, but as the author I have made the executive decision to skip all that and get to the fluff.

Eleena didn’t need a mirror to know she wouldn’t recognize herself ten years ago, five years ago…even two. The overalls were a nice touch, she thought. Paint spattered the rough cloth and splotched on her skin like cream. Wiping sweat from her forehead, she could feel a still wet glob smear across her face. 

“You need a break,” a voice like thunder rolling in mountain valleys rumbled behind her. She would recognize him no matter what, but still…the metamorphosis has been shocking so far.

Veradun’s hands rested on Eleena’s shoulders, a comforting weight like a blanket in the bitter cold. Tilting her head back, she stuck her tongue out at him.  
“We only just got started, I don’t need a break.”

Veradun’s eyes—no longer bloodshot but still vibrantly yellow—blinked down at her once before he effortlessly lifted her from her work and settled her gently on the couch. Their couch. That she was undoubtedly getting paint on. 

“If you don’t let me help we’ll never get done in time,” Eleena scolded him. Veradun knelt down, swiping at more paint on her cheek.

“There will be time enough. Without you pushing yourself harder than you need to.” His hand lingered, eyes studying her. Those eyes. The black veins of corruption no longer snaked around them like pits. Eleena felt herself smiling up to him despite herself.

“I’m not fragile, you know,” she teased.

“I know,” Veradun whispered solemnly. “It’s only one of many reasons I love you.”

Swallowing down an undignified giggle, Eleena tried to hide her lavender blush under her hand. 

Eleena would never get tired of hearing that.

Pulling his respirator to the side, Veradun bent down to kiss her. Some things, despite their metamorphosis, never changed. 

 

The local sun dripped leisurely down the horizon with Veradun doing most of the work bringing their home up to standard. With him engrossed in spackling, Eleena was finally able to sneak off to at least organize some of the crates they’d brought in.

There wasn’t much to sort, truth be told. Their life before didn’t allow for much gathering of knickknacks. The room that held the most so far was to be Veradun’s studio. The window allowed a view of the nearby mountains. Just below the window, the previous owners seemed to have attempted a garden, but all that survived was a scraggly bush. 

Returning to the sorting room, Eleena opened a crate thinking it was their clothes. The cloth inside, however, rippled darker than their civilian outfits. Running her hand over the cape, Eleena lifted a pauldron from the crate. In that same moment she heard Veradun’s footsteps echoing through the empty house toward her.

The sound stopped in the doorway, and she felt his gaze on her. 

He left that life behind him, but still brought his uniform. A part he couldn’t let go of.

Looking over her shoulder at him as she crouched by the crate she asked, “Do you have regrets?”

Striding gently towards her to pluck the pauldron from her grasp, Veradun stuffed the armor back into the crate before turning to her.

Looking past her with a faraway gaze, he said, “My only regret is not telling you I loved you sooner…”


	2. Chapter 2

Veradun’s studio faced the sunrise. The small, tidy room felt warm, settled, like everything occupied its place comfortably for years. It felt like belonging. It smelled of paint and charcoal and long hours spent creating intricate perfection. The studio was a perfect place for a morning stretch.

Everything seemed so sore lately…legs, hips, lower back…Eleena needed a good stretch. In the quiet of the morning nothing could be better. 

A few minutes into her routine as she turned to work on her hip, she saw she had an audience. Veradun, braced against the door frame with a hand on his hip, met her gaze. Heart fluttering, she felt a small blush warm her cheeks.

“I didn’t hear you wake,” Eleena said, teasing him with a wink before resuming her stretch. Certainly not showing off. Of course not.

Turning to face the other way for a moment, Veradun cleared his throat. As he turned back, Eleena could see the last shadow of his expression. 

“You should eat,” he changed the subject. Slowly rising, soaking in the last of the stretch in her muscles, Eleena sighed. She appraised Veradun, letting her eyes roam his body as she felt herself moving toward him. His sense of style was hopelessly basic, but Eleena could imagine him in nothing else. Fabric pulled taut over muscles, deep black like the shadows between stars. 

“Perhaps in a moment,” she mused, resting one hand on his chest as the other found his cheek. Standing on her toes, she planted a kiss on his forehead as he wrapped his arms around her gently. 

Nowhere in the universe could be as safe as his arms. Not overcome or surrounded, but a piece of a whole. Equal. Loved, and in love. As Eleena looked into his eyes, and Veradun into hers, she felt a completeness she never imagined she would.

Removing his respirator, Veradun kissed her. Deeply, warmly, madly. As if her love was his oxygen. The texture of his kiss was all she knew, all she ever wanted to know. In that moment there was no pain, no anguished past or fear of the future, only a profound sense of happiness to know how much he meant to her and she to him.

Eleena felt herself smiling into him as she untucked his plain, black shirt from plain, black trousers, running her hands along his back. There had been enough barriers between them. She needed to feel his warmth with nothing in the way.

Veradun pulled back just as Eleena felt him smothering another grin. Slipping one hand out from under his shirt, she took him by the chin before he could hide behind his respirator again.

“You always duck away when you smile,” she said, looking into him. “Don’t.” 

She didn’t give him a chance to respond, pressing into him and reclaiming his mouth. From the pull of his lips as they kissed, she knew he understood.


End file.
